aren't you?
are you sure it can't hurt us?
she'll be all right.
oh god. the blood.
it's not ours to decide. all that live must die. it's god's will.
she was mother to me as well. but ours is the job of the living. it's up to us now to hold this family together. we must think of father and be strong for him. i cannot do that alone.
he left a beautiful gift in her place. a baby boy. to cherish and love as our very own. your brother
there, there.  shhh.
victor, have a care! you'll make him dizzy!
oh, do give him here! he needs to be comforted and held!
that's the nature of all progress, william. don't let your brother sway you otherwise.
give me that child before you fill his head with drivel!
scandalous! what would your dear mother say?
and you look so lovely.
go on, ask her. please. i'm quite out of breath.
smell the air. wonderful.
father's so proud.
prouder still. you'll be the handsomest student there.
you will. what do you want, victor?
no. just very earnest. and very dear.
all my life i've known.
is that what makes it so delicious?
brother and sister still?
i wish to be your wife.
if only i could. but one of us must stay. father's not strong. willie's just a child. who can look after them in your absence? who can run the estate?
i will be here when you return.
my head is spinning. i want to give myself to you.
if we're to be married, must we wait?
not as weak as i.
our decision. together.
i give you my soul.
victor. i love you,
let's return a tenth of the crop to the tenants. they had a hard winter.
then there's no need to tell him, is there?
and not a day goes by that i do not cherish your faces in my mind's eye or ache to see you all again. be assured that i am with you in spirit, and you are never far from my thoughts. i remain, as always, your loving and devoted victor. p.s.
glances up at their expectant faces.
it says, give willie an extra big hug for me.
i knew held get himself in trouble.
he was almost expelled for calling one of his professors a "pompous.  fellow"
he set things right with a proper apology.  and now they've put him in charge of dissection lab!
it's far too ghoulish for your young ears.
the point is, your brother is a brilliant student well on his way to becoming the finest-and most compassionate doctor ever.
nothing. still nothing.
something's wrong. i know it. i've heard rumors of cholera spreading south from hamburg.
i should go. i should leave today.
and not a word of them to father. he's agitated enough not hearing from victor.
who? victor?
thank god.
let this locket be a token of the vow we took the night i left. he's coming home to marry me.
willie, it's not a toy for your friends.
don't dawdle. it'll be dark in a few hours.
are you all right?
is he not back yet?
it's far too late for him to still be out.
willie!
what is father's outlook?
thank you, henry.
justine and i grew up as sisters. i know her better than anybody.
william was as much her child as mine. we were both mother to him. i believe she would sooner have strangled the life from her own body.
i consider the charge imbecilic.
but why risk yourself? hasn't this family suffered enough?
if what you say is true, it is a matter for the police!
do you know this man? is there something between you?
i thought i'd never see you again!
what sort of task?
what of our marriage? victor, we've had so much tragedy. i want this family to live again.
we need each other now, i need your comfort and strength, not separation and solitude.
why the change? what about your work?
it is
does this have something to do with that man you saw?
victor, tell me why! trust me!
you're soaking.
brother and sister no more.
i have been waiting for this ever since.
victor!
you don't want to hurt me.
vic.  tor?